US shale stocks go into reverse
Chesapeake, Callon and Oasis Petroleum have all announced reverse stock splits, highlighting the parlous financial health of the sector
Economic uncertainty is raising fears of a swathe of shale bankruptcies, following US independent Whiting Petroleum’s Chapter 11 filing at the start of April. Company share prices have fallen so low that Chesapeake Energy, Callon Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum have proposed reverse stock splits to try to prevent themselves from being delisted. A reverse stock split is a way of inflating the price of a stock by reducing the number of shares in circulation, thereby boosting the value of each individual share. “Reverse stock splits in any industry, not just energy, are typically considered a bad sign by investors,” says Muhammed Ghulam, senior associate at US bank Raymond James. “Companies usual
Also in this section
9 January 2026
OPEC+ remains on track as output falls, with only Gabon failing to hit its output targets in December, although Kazakhstan’s compliance was involuntary
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
